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How I Stopped Smoking - the EasyWay…
After being a smoker for more than 15 years, and reaching over 40 cigarettes daily, I have finally decided that it is time to stop. To be honest, I never had the time to think about this during the past years, and besides becoming more and more addicted to the nicotine, this become a real habit and I was most of the time smoking automatically without even thinking of this. But now, since my wife is pregnant and we are waiting for our first baby this made me think more about my health and most important about my family’s health… and at least to consider stopping.
I was lucky enough to find an excellent resource (probably the best one): the book of Allen Carr, “Easy Way To Stop Smoking“. Even though there are many other resources on the Internet this book was exactly what I needed. Other sites like this one for example, show the same facts, but the approach is wrong… The winning strategy (at least for me) in Allen’s method is to make me understand that I was not giving up anything. This is the most important. Also realizing that it will not be very hard and painful as I expected. And even if I have not smoked only for a couple of weeks, now I can certainly tell that I am no longer addicted to this (actually I could tell that from the first day I stopped).
So my only advice to peoples that want to quit smoking is to get Allen Carr’s book and read it with an open mind. It might change your life as it has done for me. You will see in the book that he is not telling you to quit smoking until the end of the book (another brilliant idea), because if you are quitting with the wrong mood and wrong state of mind you will be smoking again in no time. The moment I finished the book, was the time I smoked my last cigarette and have never smoked ever since. And it feels great!
I hope this information will help other escape from the “nicotine trap“… and just remember that there is no such thing as “just one cigarette...” (just one cigarette is how people get into smoking in the first place.)
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19th December 2006, 02:19
not much time but i really need it, i will give it a try
Thanks
19th December 2006, 10:51
Congratulations ! Because even if a book gave you help to get a good state of mind, it’s always, more or less, a matter of determination.
You have passed the ~15 days psychological frontier (physical is 3/4/5 days), and now, your mind should begin to forget smoking - unless you’re still obsessed, but i don’t think so
I often ask myself if i should stop or not. I don’t smoke much, almost never than 5 cigarettes a day. And i rarely smoke more than 4 - for normal work days. I may smoke a lot when having a drink with friends, but often, i smoke less the next day.
I kept this rhythm naturally more than 7 years (i’m 24 years old), and i am confident that i can keep it that slow. But, two fact :
- I am in a way, dependent of nicotine, even if i can avoid smoking during 1 or 2 days without thinking a lot about it.
- I convinced myself that i smoke for pleasure - and no way to know if it’s really for pleasure or if it is a artificial self belief.
So i don’t now if should stop playing with fire and sacrifice a pleasure, or if should keep what-i-think-is-a-pleasure and keeping the low quantity as a personal challenge (even if it needs no effort - that may be the key
)
19th December 2006, 12:31
ValiSystem,
Thanks for your nice words. :-).
>>You have passed the ~15 days psychological frontier (physical is 3/4/5 days), and now, your mind should begin to forget smoking - unless you’re still obsessed, but i don’t think so
Actually from my experience, the most difficult thing was to overcome certain triggers: like I can’t start a day without a big cup of coffee (and I used to smoke 3-4 only during that time), or after lunch (that I needed 2 cigarettes), and so on. (actually I had to change the type of coffee I used to drink because it tasted awful without the cigarettes).
Different moments of the day and different activities that I used to smoke a cigarette automatically without even thinking were the most complex moments. But as long as I stayed with the proper state of mind I had no trouble to overcome them.
I would say to read the book (it took me about 4-5hours at most) and if you will still feel the need to smoke, than you have only lost a few hours. Just give it a try ;-).
19th December 2006, 21:56
Good luck Marius !
I think you’ll gonna need it…
27th January 2007, 08:48
I had a similar experience to you Marius, and I hope that as of today January 27th 2007, that you are still smoke free!
For me, it was an issue of heath. I was riding a bike, and a bunch of kids, young adults really, were riding around me and I tried to keep up.. and I fell behind.. fast. I knew that my heath and life was more important than anything, so when I got home, I picked up my fresh new pack of smokes, snapped them in half, and threw them in the garbage.
I think the book you read set a similar trigger off. Its really not about the smoking, its about the mental response from it, relaxed, happy, calm, etc. And, once your able to just understand like you did that your not giving up that relaxed, happy calm, your gaining it back, in a larger form. Heath. Life.
For me. It’s been 4 years without smoking, and I don’t miss it one bit. Of course we all have our other vices to keep us busy, I have been known to splurge on a nice bottle of scotch now and then… but thats another story.
Congratulations,
Chris
28th January 2007, 12:26
Thanks Chris! I am still smoke free and don’t miss it at all… There is no fear in my mind that I might go back there… I am out, and the only regret I have is to not have tried to quit a few years ago ;-).
Thanks again for you kind words.
2nd February 2007, 15:30
Hi Marius,
I just want to congratulate you on quitting smoking, and congratulation and good luck with your first baby to come!
P.S. I found your posted knowledge very helpful!
11th February 2007, 13:29
Wow, never thought u’ll quit smoking ….Gratz for that!
I also quit smoking but it wasnt a conscious decision ….i just got ill for 2 months and after i get better i realize that i dont need smoking anymore so ….i’m silver for 5 months now!
Good luck and many happy years to you and your enlarged family!
13th February 2007, 22:28
Thank you!
3rd September 2007, 15:15
If I could get my stop smoking clients to so anything before they come to see me for a quit smoking hypnosis session it would be to read Allen Carr’s excellent book. As you have discovered, often the book is all they need.